Drilling to take place that will close lanes on Route 24

MassDOT’s contractor, SPS New England, will perform overnight directional drilling for utilities on Monday, March 18, through Thursday, March 21, from 7:00 PM each night to 5:00 AM the following morning.

The work will take place at the end of South Street West and South Street East adjacent to Route 24. The contractor will make every effort to minimize noise during the overnight hours.

The work will require closure of a single right lane on Route 24 North and South adjacent to Route 44. The closures will be implemented from 8:00 PM each night to 5:00 AM the following morning. They are necessary to allow the contractor to access the areas at the end of South Street West and South Street East near Route 24 for the directional drilling.

The contractor is currently in Stage 2 of construction. A portion of the Route 44 bridge over Route 24 has been demolished. Traffic has been shifted to the northern portion of the bridge.

Stage 2 will include construction of the first half of the new bridge as well as a portion of the Route 44 roadway and retaining walls approaching the bridge. Overhead utility and gas line relocation will also be ongoing during this stage. Stage 2 is expected to be under construction through the fall of this year, at which point traffic will be shifted to the new bridge structure and Stage 3 will commence.

Two lanes of traffic in each direction will be maintained throughout the project duration on both Route 44 and Route 24, with the exception of some short term lane restrictions and detours during off-peak travel times.
MassDOT’s contractor, SPS New England, will use a bridge lateral slide technique for the southern half of the new superstructure, which will help minimize traffic shifts on Route 44 as well as overnight closures and detours on Route 24.